Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Drugs

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK Anti-Doping Agency's capability to test for (1) gene editing, and (2) synthetic messenger RNA, to meet the ban on the non-therapeutic use of genes, genetic elements and cells as set out in the World Anti-Doping Agency Code, that have the capacity to enhance athletic performance; and whether they are collecting and storing samples for such testing in the future.

Baroness Barran: It is the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) role to approve new testing processes. WADA has not yet developed a test for gene editing due to the complexities in identifying gene doping. To mitigate the threat of gene doping, WADA has a Gene and Cell Doping Expert Group which provides direction to its Health, Medical and Research Committee. The Committee develops strategies to prevent and detect non-therapeutic manipulation of gene/protein in sport.WADA has approved tests for RNA, but these are only being used in experimental environments for research, and not yet by anti-doping organisations (including UK Anti-Doping).UK Anti-Doping split the samples they collect from each athlete into “A” samples which are analysed, and “B” samples which are stored securely for potential future tests. Samples can be stored for up to 10 years.

Gambling: Children

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement in Government Response to the House of Lords Gambling Industry Committee Report: Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry, published on 8 December, that gambling advertising did not correlate to gambling participation among 11 to 24 year olds, what plans they have to undertake a review of the effects of gambling advertising on children as part of theGambling Act Review.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Government Response to the House of Lords Gambling Industry Committee Report: Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry, published on 8 December,how many gambling operators have been sanctioned due to breaches of rules committed by contracted affiliates.

Baroness Barran: The government launched its Review of the Gambling Act 2005 on 8 December with the publication of a Call for Evidence. As part of the wide scope of that Review, we have called for evidence on the benefits or harms of allowing gambling operators to advertise. We welcome any relevant evidence, including on the effects of gambling advertising on children.The Gambling Commission has worked closely with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on the issue of affiliates in recent years and has tightened its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). As a result, many operators have scaled back or terminated their affiliate programmes to come into line with regulatory expectations. Affiliate advertisement standards have also improved markedly as a result of the joined up work of the Commission and the ASA.Due to ongoing compliance work, there has rarely been the need to take enforcement action against operators. Where there has, three gambling operators have been sanctioned due to breaches of rules committed by contracted affiliates since 2018/19.

Department of Health and Social Care

Suicide: Gambling

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Government Response to the House of Lords Gambling Industry Committee Report: Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry, published on 8 December, how they intend to record gambling related suicides.

Lord Bethell: As detailed in the Government’s response to the Committee’s Report, we have no plans to separately identify gambling-related suicides as, amongst other things, coroners do not usually provide what might be understood as the ‘reason’ for a suicide in their verdicts, which would seriously compromise the reliability and, therefore, the validity of any resulting data.

Occupational Health

Baroness Mone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) discussionsthey have had with, and (2) guidance they have provided to, employers about ways to support employees to be healthier whilst they are at work.

Lord Bethell: The Government and arm’s length bodies, including the Health and Safety Executive and Acas, work with a range of stakeholders to equip employers with the knowledge and confidence to support health in the workplace. This includes help to adapt workplaces and working practices and provide inclusive working environments.In 2019, Public Health England and Business in the Community published online toolkits to help employers support staff mental and physical health. We continue to work with Business Leaders via the ‘Thriving at Work Leadership Council' to promote mental health resources available online. In ‘Health is Everyone’s Business’ we consulted on proposals to support employers to prevent health-related job loss, including by expanding access to occupational health services. We anticipate that a response will be available by the end of the year.